Friday, November 18, 2011

If you're wondering who's making out like fat bandits aside from those guys and gals down to Wall Street, K Street and any of the 7 counties surrounding Washington DC you might want to enlarge your definitions and start learning about the wonderful world of System D.

System D you ask? New weight loss program? New real estate pyramid scheme? Recovered alien relic stashed out at that funky Chinese place that's been all over Google?

Nope. It's black hole that 10 Trillion dollars of goods and services have used to disappear from the prying, tax hungry eyes of governments world wide. I'm certain it's caught on here as embodied by the prevalence of yard sales, EBay, craigslist and swap meets for various and sundry hobbies and other interests. I also gotta wonder how big a chunk of that 10 Trillion dollar estimate rolls out of the good 'ol US of A. 20% sound right? We are the biggest economy on the freakin' planet and I hope we've got enough tax evasion genes left here to be able to hold our own with the other débrouillard's around the world.

That's the root of System D. Avoid government regulation, taxation and bureaucratic busybodies and make your self a little cash and keep every penny of it. I can't think of a more Libertarian system because if the state can't get at your money, the state can't keep growing. Hell, even the Chinese wouldn't lend our government any money if they didn't prop up the balance sheets with those rosy projections of taxes withheld in 2014, 2015, 2016,,,, all the way to 2099.

Reading about System D causes me to wax nostalgic for those heady days of yesteryear, at least prior to 1913 when the bulk of America's small bidness worked just that way. A promise was a promise and a deal was a deal and nobody was standing in the wings ready to toss a couple of hundred billions of taxpayer money into the pot if the deal fell through.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Believe it or not, there is a race underway for the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party at next years convention in fabulous Las Vegas and the two leading contenders at the moment are republicans. Not only that, but both of these guys are actively seeking the republican nod to lead the dastardly R's to victory in November next year.

Wild ain't it?

The libertarian blog-o-sphere is all a-twitter about rumors that republican Gary Johnson might bolt the grand old party and show up in Vegas in May. Republican Ron Paul might bump into him the foyer and declared LP candidates Lee Wrights, RJ Harris, Rodger Gary and Carl Person will glare at both of them and harrumph several times before they join the rest of the convention in lining up to get their pictures taken with their new competitors.

I would too. I'd really like a grip-n-grin with the redoubtable Dr. Paul. He is a freakin' legend. Gary Johnson, not so much, but he does have a track record of political success unmatched by any Libertarian I can think of. 'Tis a quandary to be sure.

In the three years I've been associated with the LP here in Georgia, I have noticed an incredible desire to win. Why in hell would you get involved if you did not want to win? This desire for unobtainable victory has been sufficient motivation for the candidates I've worked with to draw a deep breath and jump in the ring and see what happens. It even happened to me way back in 2010 when I was the Georgia LP candidate for the Office of Insurance Commissioner, a race that ended predictably with a victory by the republican nominee.

During my time here in Georgia I've heard and participated in the conversations that I'm sure every state level operation of the LP goes through. They all wind up at the same place, How can we win? And a lot of times us amateur LP politicians default to the concept of converting a suitable republican or democrat to our line of thinking and enticing him or her to run as a libertarian this time around. I've yet to see that approach work. I'm of the opinion that it never will.

Why would a successful republican or democrat defect to Liberty? There's no money in this Liberty thing, not much organization and just as much back biting and criticism as exists in their home parties. The only thing we have going for us as a national political party is ballot access in 46 out of 50 states. That could be enough for a failed presidential candidate from another party to realize that he might be able to extract a pound of flesh from the RNC for blackballing/blocking/ignoring his attempt to compete in the primary process by scarfing up 3% to 5% of the vote and delivering victory to DNC. Or the other way around.

The question is, what would the LP gain by such a move? Would it bolster our numbers? Would it help to get the basic LP message of Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom resonating with the skulls of more Americans? Would such a move enrich the coffers of our state parties or of national by increased donations? Would there be any juice left over after the election that might be parceled out for further direct political action by other Libertarian candidates large and small?

If something like that happens, what does that do to the self defined LP farm team out there hills and hollows? Wouldn't it just reinforce the concept that the two party duopoly has things so locked down that there is no reason for a semi viable Libertarian Party to even exist except in service to disgruntled republicans and democrats? It would be hard not to look at it that way.

It's difficult to reach any conclusions about the possibilities of the 2012 contest and what it holds for the Party of Principle. Mind you, I absolutely love to hear republicans squealing about wasted votes and the lesser of two evils and Libertarians being responsible for the election costing a lot more money than it should have.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Every now and then whilst cruising around the internets you'll come across some really cool stuff. Like this custom modded Nerf Vulcan EBF 25 from the fine folks over at Mana Energy. It features a stunning 500 rounds per minute rate of fire with an LED round counter just like all the first person shooter games.

The last time I fired anything on a tripod or ring mount that was belt fed was way way back in 1982 at Benning's school for boys down Columbus way. I must admit a certain fondness for mechanical devices that produce deafening thuds at the users end and spectacular results at the distant end.

This particular foam dart monster won't get it all done, but with the ornery nature of the guys and gals down to the local ATF office, it's gonna have to do. The readership is encouraged to visit the link above and get the inside skinny on building one of these quite politically incorrect toys.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Looks like the overall revenue shortage here in Georgia has forced the state to cut back on funding for our state parks. Please note that the programs that privatize the interstates via "toll" lanes get all the moola they want and yet the citizenry is summarily restricted from reasonable access to lands we all own.

As a Rogue Libertarian (RL) I quite like the ideas put forth in the article by K. Torres concerning an expansion of activities at our various state parks and dare to offer some options for consideration.

Moonshine Park - As the illustration above indicates, simple backwoods distilleries might be a huge draw for state park visitors. I'm not talking about some stale mock-up of one of the stills of yore and a gift shop filled with collectibles from the Peoples Republic of China. I'm talking about 20 or 30 fully operational 200 freakin' gallon a day whiskey stills each sited on it's own particular branch in it's own particular hollow with it's own particular blend of white lightin'. These are not one man operations and would require trained, skilled and dedicated crews to operate them, a positive side effect for our state's economy in these dreary economic times. The biggest obstacle to creating a park of this type are numerous laws concerning the manufacture of distilled spirits at the local, state and federal level that work in concert to remind us all that we are the property of the state. Would be fun though!

Refugee Park - This killer concept would draw out of state tourists, especially from the industrial northeast where conditions are reportedly worse than daily life would be at this camp. Limited rations, no running water and sanitary facilities that would be described as horrific add to the cachet this specialty camp offers. Consider it a chance for us soft Americans to suffer the slings and arrows that afflict some 2 billion inhabitants elsewhere on this planet for a paltry $500 weekly family rate and the prospect of getting the hell out of there at weeks end. If they open the gates like they promised.

OWS Camp - This might be chance to capitalize on the OWS movement by converting under utilized state property like the parking garage next to the Sloppy Floyd Building into a state park for the transient members of the Occupy crowd. It's difficult to calculate a daily or weekly rate for these stalwart protesters but if there are signs indicating that free weed, free beer and scandalous females are inside said parking deck, turn out might be extreme. Add in the benefit of reducing traffic obstructions and you have a winner!

Cannon Camp - This operation would be ideally suited for state properties below the gnat line where industry is scarce, flat lands abound and the steady drum 6 pound Napoleons would not disturb the locals. Visualize a camp where you could get trained to load, aim and fire a variety of ordnance from giant siege guns to the legendary French 75. Not the least expensive camp in the state system, but distinct in the nation!

This list could go on and on and is limited only by the imagination of the readership. Single issue activist camps, End of the World next Wednesday (EOTWNW) camps and host of others are possible.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Looks like a novel ad put out by the Atlanta Council of the Boy Scouts of America has resulted in adding 6500 new cub scouts to the rolls. 6500 ! That's fantastic!

Perhaps the state LP should consider utilizing this technique to boost membership here in Georgia. The readership is encouraged to examine the attached chart which provides a closer look at the many choices available.